Joseph wood



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH WOOD, OF RED BANK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR To HIMSELF AND EDWD; W SEREELL, OE SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'tHE MODE oF olLlNe JouRNALs;

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,871, dated December 1861.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH WVOOD,of Red Bank, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and useful Means for Oiling Journals; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe nature of my said invention.

In the axle and journal boxes now generally in use, particularly on railroad-cars, there is an oil-receptacle below the journal, which is filled with cotton waste. My invention relates to this well-known character of box, in which the oil is supplied to the axle or journal by capiliary attraction. I have discovered by experiment and experience that the fine fibers of cotton waste in Contact with thejournal become abraded in consequence of the gummy nature of the oil upon the journal and the quick revolution of the journal; hence that said fibers of cotton are carried between the journal and box, greatly to the detriment of the parts, because these cotton bers become ground into the oil, making it thick and gummy, and under the speed and compression become charred, so that the surface of the cotton waste in contact with the journal will be found after use to be coated with a black carbonaceous substance and the journal to be exceedingly dirty. The consequence is an undue Wear upon the journal and box, and often they become highly heated from the friction.

I have discovered that wood shavings when saturated with oil and brought in contact with the bearing or journal to be lubricated will supply, in consequence of capiliary attraction, sucient oil to a journal for the purposes of lubricationand will prevent heating and save oil, and that when shavings are substituted for the cotton waste heretofore used the journal becomes perfectly smooth and bright, because the oil is supplied in just the quantity re= quired to form a thin lm upon the journal instead of in such a quantity as constantly to be coming upon and passing off of the jour nal, and the dirt and carbonaceous matter or dinarly found in` axle and journal boxes seems to be almost entirely prevented.

The foregoing are practically the results ati tained by thorough and prolonged experiments. rlhe entire reason Why this result is attained seems unaccountable; but probably the same reasons apply Where the Wood shavings form the packing to supply oil as exist in cases where journals--such as of circular saws and polishing-wheels, dto-are found to run best in wooden blocks, in which cases the metal, instead of Wearing, as Would be the case wh ere metal comes in contact With metal, is highly polished by contact with the Oily Wood. Such I believe to be the case with the use of oily shavings in j ournal-boxes. The oily wood, While greasing the journal, polishes the same, and hence decreases friction and lessens the wear upon the journal-box. Shavings from Wood, particularly from pine, spruce, &c., possess great elasticity, and hence always press up into contact with the under side of the journal.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The manner herein specilied of supplying oil or lubricating material to journals by the employment of the material described, in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this l-Lth day of May, 1861.

JOSEPH WOOD.

Witnesses:

LEMUEL W. SERRELL, THOS. GEO. HAROLD. 

